Sunshine and Roses?

This morning I read 1 John 3 and 4. These chapters are so stuffed full of good, insightful, convicting verses, I don't know where to start!!

These passages are definitely not an ear tickling ones, with several verses like:

"No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." (3:6)

We know that from hermeneutics and from the rest of Scripture, that the word "sin" is referring to habitual sin. Some of these sins are listed in Galatians 5:19-20:

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-20)

Interesting to note that hatred, jealously, and fits of rage (anger) are all listed here. I think many people fall into the temptation of thinking that anger is a "small" sin. Heh...debunked.

Chapter three also talks a lot about obedience to God, and the chapter wraps up like this:

"And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." (3:23-24)

Chapter four talks more about God's love towards us, and our love towards others, ending with these scathing verses:

"If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, who he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." (4:20-21)

Just goes to show that the Bible is not all sunshine and roses. Loving and following God is about making a commitment, and a hard one at that!

It's not about how we feel! (www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbnJWlFjSFk) In fact, 1 John 3:18 really summed it up for me...

"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

~~~

Change the world!!!

In Christ,
Ellie

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

People Matter

Image
Today was one of those first time experiences that I'll never forget. I've been a part of our local Church Body - Southwest Wake Christian Assembly (SWCA) - for right around eight years, and although we've had a dozen births and a handful of marriages, we've never had a death of one of Body members. One of our oldest members, Mr. Bob, was just transferred to Hospice this week with likely only a few more days to live on this earth. The whole situation was rather sudden - I knew he'd struggled with health issues for a while and was weak, but I didn't realize how close he's been to death. Today I got to visit him. Unfortunately, he was sound asleep the whole time, but I still got to talk and sing loudly to him. Even if he didn't hear anything I said or sang, I'm sure God will pass along the message when Mr. Bob falls into His embrace. I admit, I cried. It was emotional seeing him there, knowing he won't be here for much longer. I was also sad tha
Read more

Joy and "Genesius"

Image
So much has gone on in the past couple weeks!! Not only did I finish my joy study (yay!), but I got through the last two weeks of rehearsals and three performances of a Christian Youth Theatre play! (www.spiritualtwist.com) The play, titled "Genesius", focused on the persecution of early Christians in Rome, 303 AD. It explicitly shared the Gospel, and touched on themes like sacrifice, surrender, faith, love, joy in trials, and much more! I was HUGELY blessed to be able to be a part of this production, and know I will never be the same, especially after the role I played. My character's name was Claudia. Not only was she a Christian, but she was also a noblewoman, which was less common in those days. Her (fictional) husband was also an important official and a close friend of the Emperor, Diocletian. When Claudia and her daughter, Lydia, are captured and brought before the Emperor (which happens during the play), he tries to get Claudia to renounce her faith, first by a
Read more

Dance Before the Lord

Image
Today I read 2 Samuel 6. This is when David and all of Israel are bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. The first time is a failure (the dude touches the Ark and dies, David gets spooked, and lets some other guy take care of it for a while), but I focused my study on the second part of the chapter, when they're bringing it in again the right way. It says that David danced before the Lord (and subsequently all of Israel) with "all his might". There were shouts, and trumpets, and other musical instruments blaring, I'm sure. Then David began "leaping and dancing" in celebration and thankfulness before the Lord. Not only is David held in honor by the people for this whole-hearted display (as we find out later in the chapter), but David also blesses the people by giving them all food. However, David's wife Michal (Saul's daughter), despises and condemns David for his dancing, saying that he made an utter fool of himself before the people.
Read more